


How to Fight Fate

by ScottTylerFan2000



Category: The Power of Five - Anthony Horowitz
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-06
Updated: 2021-01-24
Packaged: 2021-03-16 00:29:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,311
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28573035
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ScottTylerFan2000/pseuds/ScottTylerFan2000
Summary: When destiny calls, Richard says 'new phone who this?'Matt can't keep the truth from Richard, of Matt's part in saving the world. Richard can't allow fate to win. Richard's going to find another way to defeat the Old Ones, if it kills him.And it might.
Comments: 6
Kudos: 11





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by discord, thanks Hannah :)

_Right now, I'm tired. I need to sleep."_

_“He led Matt out of the front cabin. Lohan stayed behind with Scarlett. The two pilots still hadn’t returned but there was guitar music coming from below, soft and strangely comforting in the pale grey night. There were half a dozen bunks spread out with blankets and pillows. Richard took Matt to the one at the very end._

_“You can go next to me,” he said._

_“Thanks, Richard.”_

_Matt lay down on the bunk and pulled the cover over himself._

_“Tell me about Scott,” Richard said. “You knew it was going to happen, didn’t you?”_

_Matt wasn’t sure how to answer. “I had an idea. Yes.”_

_“Couldn’t you have stopped him?”_

_“I don’t think so.” Matt propped himself up on one elbow. “I never thought it would end this way,” he said._

_Excerpt From: Anthony Horowitz. “The Power of Five: Oblivion”. Apple Books._

Matt paused. "From Lesser Malling to here... I'm really glad to have had you with me."

Richard smiled at him. "I'd say that there's nowhere else I'd rather be, but that would be a lie."

Matt smiled, despite himself. "Thanks." He yawned, and tried to forget about the book for enough time to fall asleep. He felt dizzy with it, a sickness in the pit of his stomach where he'd eaten too much on too little sleep. "It'll all plan out as it should," he said quietly, more to relieve himself than Richard. 

Richard frowned. "You sound hopefully."

Matt yawned again. "Insider knowledge," he said, his eyes drifting shut. 

"Well, what does that mean?"

Crap. Maybe not the best thing to have said. "Nothing, Richard. Just need some sleep." He opened one eye, seeing Richard had moved closer to Matt's bunk, squatting on the floor. 

"Matt, do you know how this will pan out?" asked Richard, slowly and carefully choosing his words. 

"It's - no, that's not what I meant," Matt protested, feebly. 

"Tell me! It could be helpful. It's got to be helpful! If you know what's going to happen, Matt..."

Richard was on his knees looking concerned. 

Matt sat up in the cot. "You can't," he croaked. "You can't help."

"Tell me anyway. Is it awful?"

"If it doesn't happen as is it should, we might not win, Richard." Matt rubbed his face, feeling gritty and unclean and old. 

Richard looked stricken. "Not filling me with much hope here." He licked his lips; they were dry and chapped and looked close to scabbing. He looked a mess, as usual. Matt felt that the ten years Richard had on him in this moment meant nothing. 

"Richard..." Matt realised he had a lump in his throat. "It's... It isn't great. For any of us. But it has to be this way."

"What way?"

Matt regretted the words before they'd even left his mouth. "I read it, before. In the Dreamworld. I know what I need to do for this to work."

"What do you need to do?"

Matt kept the story brief and to the point. The fight would be a failure. Matt would meet Scott, who would betray them all. Who would also save them all. Matt would be taken and... tortured, and Richard would save him. 

Richard listened, his eyes growing wider and expression more torn with every word Matt said. "Christ," he said, after Matt had finished the tale with Richard's tumi in his heart. "Christ. Fucking _christ_."

"It's ok," said Matt, although clearly it wasn't. 

Richard turned away and started to rifle through a bag. Matt watched him, absently, feeling drained and empty. His eyes started to close, though his throat was tight with the pressure of what he’d put on Richard.

“Go to sleep, Matt.” Matt stirred; Richard was suddenly right next to him, his eyes bright.

Matt went to sleep.

-

Matt disagreed with Cain about his battle plans. Politely and calmly, he said his peace, eyes going to Richard only once to warn him not to get involved. And only once did Richard try, for how could he not? All these people were going to die and to no avail.

“You need to listen to Matt, Commander. There could be dire consequences to what you’re planning to do.” Richard crossed his arms and lifted his chin, firm.

The commander glanced at Richard and then back to Matt. And then Cain told Matt that he didn’t understand the situation, that he was too new to the area. He challenged Matt, who rose to it and exploded a bottle of water, reminding Richard of the first time Matt had spoken about his powers. The commander was unimpressed.

“We’re just going to let this happen?” Richard asked Matt quietly, away from Scarlett and Lohan.They were looking out at the ice field where the attack would be soon. The huge expanse of ice and snow, glittering in the light. Richard could imagine all too clearly the bloodshed that would soon cover the area. The sheer amount of people they were to lose. He had to stop it, he had to.

But the army had leaders. The plans were in order. Matt had far more power than Richard had; the commander barely even noticed Richard’s presence. And if Matt suspected Richard was going to attempt to change what had been written… Richard shivered. He felt unwell, picturing what was going to happen.

Matt nodded grimly. “I can’t see another way.” He turned to Richard. “You know we can’t change it. Don’t spend too much time on it.”

Richard swallowed. He wondered how he would be able to cope with that guilt. A question cropped up but, patience, now wasn’t the time to ask it. Matt surely felt guilty too, but at least the guilt would end soon for him. The guilt would end with his life, and Richard would have double guilt for the rest of his.

Which, who knows? Might not be that far away either.

The battle took place as Matt had said it would. Although, Matt had kept some details back. Richard thought perhaps things had changed already, for they were winning!

And then the illusion fell. “Did you know?” Richard shouted to Matt, as the blizzard raged against them and the army began its forlorn retreat. “Did you know it was a trick?”

Matt, exhausted, trying to help the injured around him, met his eye and then dropped the contact. He knew.

This was worse than Richard had thought it would be. Pulling people, young and old, injured mildly and massively up from the ice and rushing to the hospital buildings. Horrific injuries, worse than he’d ever seen in Egypt.

He caught up with Scarlett in the temporary hospital field. Her face was pinched and her scar was bright on her face. “Are you ok?”

“It’s horrible…”

“I know.” Richard hugged Scarlett. She clung to him, young for a moment, and then pushed back and wiped her eyes.

“Right. Time to crack on,” she said with a thick voice.

Richard… well, he wasn’t quite able to smile, but he grimaced at her and he hoped she got the idea.

The world army were leaving. They were invited to see the commander once more, who gave Matt a handwritten note from Scott.

This was it, the beginning of the end. Or the end of the end, really.

“It’s a trap,” said Richard, stupidly. He and Matt of course knew it, had been expecting it.

But Scarlett agreed. “Why would Scott want to meet with you now? If he really wanted to talk to you, he could have come to the dreamworld. Or he could have escaped himself. He didn’t need to send a note.”

Richard realised Scarlett and Lohan were thinking that Scott wasn’t involved with the trap. That he wouldn’t do that. Fury rose within him. Scott didn’t deserve the benefit of the doubt. Scott should be held accountable for his actions.

Scott was sorry for Joanna Chamber’s death. Well, so he should. He still wasn’t really sure if Scott had got it wrong when he’d read the mind of the intruder or perhaps the intruder didn’t know the attack that was about to commence. A thought occurred to Richard. Perhaps Scott had known, and had lied. Thinking back to him across those months in Peru, angry and mistrusting. Occasionally abrasive and always guarded. When Richard had learnt for the first time that, as a child, he’d both killed his adult caregiver and almost killed a young classmate, Richard hadn’t been able to shake the thought that he could see that cruelty in Scott.

Richard fought with Matt to get him to see, playing his role as he thought he should. Scarlett protested too, and then Matt said he was going. Lohan and Scarlett groaned.

“Can we have a minute, Commander?” Richard asked. He wasn’t going to wait for an answer; Richard left the tent.

Matt followed him, looking wary, Scarlett just behind him. He didn’t really mean her but that didn’t matter.

“Richard,” Matt began, “you know-“

Richard interrupted him. “You’re not meeting him.”

“I have to.” He glanced at Scarlett and said, “It’s our only option. We need to end it together.”

“It isn’t. The way this has been written, you never told me in the book, did you?”

Scarlett frowned. It was very cold outside and she shivered, about to ask what they were talking about -

“It doesn’t exactly write everything that happens every second,” Matt said. “But I guess-“

And that was enough for Richard. He pulled the tumi out of his waistband, where it had been waiting, and brought it up to his own neck.

“Richard!” Scarlett gasped, stepping forward.

Matt looked taken aback. “What are you doing?”

“If you go to meet Scott,” said Richard, pressing the knife to his neck, hoping he had the strength to fulfil his threat, “I’m going to cut my own neck.”

Matt mouthed a few words, unable to settle on an appropriate argument. “Don’t be stupid…”

“Fuck the book,” said Richard furiously. “Fuck all of it. It doesn’t have to end that way. I won’t let it.”

“I’ll meet him anyway,” said Matt. “With or without you.”

“And then you know what’s going to happen to you for eternity, with no way out and no way to end this,” Richard said. The knife was freezing in the Antarctic wind.

“I could take that off you.”

“Try it.” Richard gambled on one hunch.

Slowly, Matt raised a hand. Richard stared levelly at him. The tumi didn’t budge. The standoff lasted maybe twenty seconds, but Matt was the first to bring his arm down. “We could lose if we do this,” said Matt.

“We could win,” Richard countered. “You could live.”

Scarlett gasped behind Matt.

Matt looked at Richard sadly. He pulled his coat tighter around himself. “And what’s your plan?”

Richard brought the knife down. “Let me go and speak to Scott.”

“They’ll take you, if it’s a trap,” Scarlett said, concerned.

“Better me than Matt.”

“He might kill you,” Matt said quietly.

Richard hesitated. “Maybe.”

“Surely he wouldn’t,” Scarlett protested, but she didn’t have the knowledge that Richard and Matt had.

“It buys us time,” said Richard. “I don’t think he would, I really don’t, but -“

“But we don’t have another plan!” Matt was growing angry. “I don’t know what happens after I die that means we win. Scott has an important part to play, that’s all I know. I don’t even know why the doors don’t work.”

“My plan is that I’m going.” Richard smiled grimly. “Who knows? Maybe I’ll be able to convince Scott to rebel.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> everyone swears in the end of the world

Richard felt very cold as he was being led across the Antarctic, between icebergs larger than he’d ever imagined, illuminated by the low sun even though it was nearly midnight. The air was still, the sea calm as they cut through on the Zodiac, the small inflatable boat that was taking him. Scarlett, last minute, had tried to fight and say she should come along too, but the risk of having another gatekeeper taken and then taken hostage was too great. Still, Richard would have welcomed the company. There was every chance he would never see them again.

Richard kept a hand close to his gun inside his jacket pocket. It was probably a bad idea to bring it but it gave Richard a sense of security. He had an idea of what might happen, but there was still a chance Scott - and the Old Ones - might just decide to let Richard go back on his boat and back to Matt and Scarlett. He clung to that hope.

“There it is,” Greyson muttered, pointing to the cliff face. “Straight ahead of us now.”

There was a small cove in front of the black cliff face, around the back of the fortress. They drew closer. Richard didn’t know the specifics of the meeting; he couldn’t see Scott and it did occur to him that perhaps, Scott hadn’t been lying. Perhaps he had been taken.

Cain promised back up behind him. Richard couldn’t see it, but he had been assured a team of skimmers could be there in two minutes, a small sort of dinghy. They hit the shingle and Greyson cut the engine and looked to Richard. “No sign of your friend,” said Greyson.

“He’ll come,” said Richard.

“The beach is empty.”

“Yeah, I can see that,” Richard muttered.

Greyson nodded. “Well, best of luck to you. I’ll be back in twenty.”

That was the agreed time. Enough time for a brief chat and to ensure Greyson would be far enough away for Scott to reveal himself. Still, Richard knew, it was the last time he’d be in that boat.

He shivered. Perhaps, if it was just him, Scott wouldn’t show himself at all. Matt had been insistent that they had to speak to him, that speaking to Scott was pivotal. Richard hoped he would show himself in that case; he didn’t much fancy their chances at speaking to him inside the fortress, and waiting for a chance meeting in the dreamworld seemed unlikely.

Movement caught his eye and he turned back to the cove. Scott was approaching, in a dark padded coat with fur lining. Where had he appeared from? Richard couldn’t tell, because it had looked empty.

He looked different to the last time Richard had seen him. He walked with confidence across the shingle, stopping half way towards Richard, waiting for Richard to take the next steps. Already he looked angry, which was an expression Richard did recognise on his face.

Well, get in line. Richard couldn’t quite understand what had changed in the boy he knew from Nazca. He had been an outsider, sure, always on the fringes, but welcomed. They had all tried to give him space, having a small idea of his history. He had never seemed happy, had never wanted to seem happy; he’d been annoyed by being looked after by Richard or Joanna, angry to have been helped by Pedro.

But he wouldn’t have expected that boy to turn around and betray Matt in the way he had intended to.

They were face to face on the cold shingle in the cold cove. The wind and water were still, the sky was clear. The atmosphere was harsh and inhospitable.

“Richard,” greeted Scott, about as coldly as he could.

“Scott,” Richard nodded in return.

“Good to see you,” said Scott, in his same tone.

Richard was surprised they were bothering with pleasantries. “Good to see you too,” he lied.

“I was expecting Matt.”

Richard smiled thinly. “He’s under the weather.”

“Well, I need to talk to him,” scowled Scott.

“What about?”

Scott’s eyes narrowed. He’d always had a coldness to him, a quiet cruelty, but it practically shone out of him now. He was gone, lost to the Old Ones.

“For fuck’s sake,” said Scott, suddenly furious. “He couldn’t even come out and meet me? This is your problem, all of your problems, you get that?” 

“And what would he have been met with, Scott?” Richard threw his arms wide, gesturing to the black cliff. “The ambush?”

That had been the wrong thing to say. Richard had hoped, somewhere in his lesser mind, that he would be able to stall and then leave the cove unscathed on the back of the Zodiac.

Instead, at his words, the walls came alive with the writhing flies that had made them up. It was disgusting the way they peeled away from the walls, revealing white rock behind, and a pathway through. The flies hung in the air like a thick, dark cloud, before clumping together with a horrifyingly beautiful pattern.

“Wait-“ Scott shouted, surprised by the timing of the attack.

The flies became soldiers and the soldiers crowded around them, closing them in. Soldiers made of flies, who would fall apart into flies if Richard shot or attacked, but the weapons the flies formed looked intimidating and powerful. Richard could see the boats incoming to the beach but it would be too late.

Besides, the Old Ones prepared. A massive condor had appeared in the sky to strike the boats. Richard willed them to turn around, to save themselves. Enough blood had been spilt.

“He’s not the one we want, he’s nothing,” Scott protested to the clouds of forming soldiers.

Richard scoffed at that.

“Get them both,” commanded another voice from not far behind Scott.

Scott whirled around, eyes wide, where an old man stood, dressed similarly well to Scott. “No!” Scott shouted, but it was too late. The fly soldiers turned on them both, beating them with shields and batons. There was no point fighting. Richard couldn’t do much with his weapons. A sharp smack to the head and he was knocked unconscious.

-

Matt had hoped the ambush wouldn’t happen as he hadn’t been there, but apparently Scott had taken what he could get.

No, Matt tried to control his thoughts. Scott was being used. He couldn’t go into this with a mind clouded by anger, he needed to keep a level head.

Scarlett was upset. “They want us to come help save him, don’t they?” She and Matt were in the upper section of the plane, as many blankets as they could find over themselves. She and Richard had spent a lot of time together in the past few months, so he could understand her upset.

“The trap failed so they’re using him as bait, yeah,” said Matt. “We’ll have to work out a way in.”

“What about the others?”

Matt had been thinking about the others. Ordinarily, before, he wouldn’t have met any of them again. What would it be for him now? One day left?

“I can try and sleep, I might be able to see them,” continued Scarlett when Matt didn’t respond. “How are they meant to get here? Surely they have to, if we’re to win. What did you say happened at the end of the book?”

Matt sighed. “The book ended when… I ended,” he said glumly.

Scarlett’s mouth popped open. “Oh,” she said. “And that was… soon?”

“Tomorrow.”

“Ah,” she said, and reached across to pat Matt’s hand, which was a nice enough gesture. And then, “So you don’t know how it happened but it did work?”

“Scott does the right thing in the end.”

“Which is?”

He paused. “I don’t know…”

“Well,” Scarlett considered. “We could read his book?”

“Do you think you’ll be able to sleep right now?”

“I suppose not… but if I do, that’s what I’ll do. Or my own actually.”

They sat in silence for a few minutes. Matt wondered what ordeal Richard was going through right now. Scarlett worried her blanket; she was probably wondering the same. “Do you have a plan to get in?” She asked him.

“They want me,” said Matt. “Getting inside the fortress won’t be hard.”

“If you go in, what was the point of Richard taking your place?”

There was movement at the stairs. Lohan came up, nodding to them both. “Cain wishes to speak to you,” he said to Matt.

Matt nodded. “Sure.” The world army were still hanging around but morale was low. The first boat to leave would surely lead a mass exodus. Matt couldn’t blame them; he couldn’t imagine the world army beating the army of Old Ones, even if Matt was still with them this time.

The plan was to leave. Matt was horribly out of control of the situation. The conversation he sat through with Cain had him falling off a precipice of the pretence of stability he had over the near future. Everyone would leave as they did before, when Matt had been taken.

Scarlett tried her best to argue but she sounded hollow and unconvinced. Matt didn’t even try, for he was lost adrift. Richard was one of his strongest ties to the life he had been able to lead so far; could he now face a life without his best friend?

He didn’t want to. Fuck all of them, fuck Cain, fuck Scott, fuck everyone for leaving and abandoning them. He had Scarlett, he knew he had Pedro and Jamie, he had enough. Surely.

“You’re staying,” said Lohan, later in the plane.

Matt nodded. “I’m not leaving without Richard.”

Lohan turned to Scarlett. “We should go.” It was the closest to emotional Matt had seen Lohan before.

“I’m staying too,” said Scarlett. She sounded tired. “We have to stick together.”

“You’ll be stronger away from here.”

“If Scott’s here, and we need to be together to win, then we need to be here,” said Scarlett.

Lohan gave her a scathing look. “Your friend is a traitor.”

Scarlett’s temper flared. “And what do you know of loyalty? Of doing what’s right? I know you, Lohan. You’re out for yourself. Go and save your precious skin, go look after yourself. Until the old ones find you, of course…”

Lohan appeared to be examining the floor in great detail. Scarlett waited. She felt like she’d aged ten years in the past day. And then Lohan looked at Matt. “You told her.”

“I did,” said Matt.

Lohan struggled for the words. “I wouldn’t have left you.”

“Wouldn’t you?” Only it was Scarlett to have said it, and that meant so much more.

Lohan said nothing else but for nodding once, and then he left the plane and Matt and Scarlett to each other’s company.

_

The cell was deep underground. The floor was rock covered in straw (now slightly blood-soaked) and the walls were rock, rock, rock and metal, which had become the door that Richard and his cellmate were dragged in through. It was dark but for an eerie blue glow. Richard was injured but couldn’t see his injuries properly; the light was too low. And he couldn’t work out where the light was coming from.

Richard had regained consciousness at some point during the journey to the cell, but the bag over his head and the strong feeling of nausea had stopped him from being able to work out where he was, should he have managed to coordinate an escape.

And he wasn’t alone in the cell. Richard had pulled off the hood as soon as he could when he was dumped in the room, and so was able to see the fly guards drop in the other body lying limp and unprotesting. Scott.

Scott had laid still for a while, almost long enough for Richard to check whether or not he was okay which Richard really didn’t want to have to do. But he slowly pulled himself off of the ground and slouched back against the wall, dropping his head between his knees.

“So what was the plan?” Richard rubbed his head where there was a particularly big lump. He hoped he didn’t have a serious head injury. “Matt gets taken, and then what?”

Scott didn’t respond.

“Not going to kill him or past Matt turns up, so instead?” Obviously Richard knew what their plans had been but he wondered if Scott did. “Punish him for the rest of his long, long life? Spot of casual torture, perhaps?”

“Fuck off,” Scott muttered.

“Was your plan to go and watch? Yeah, he’s your mate right, but what’s a mate compared to all the riches in the world…”

“We were never friends.”

Richard jerked his head over to Scott’s direction. “Never friends? We only gave you a safe place to sleep, food, comfort, clothes, company…”

“None of you ever trusted me.” The words came out muffled.

“Trust?” Richard sprang to his feet; his aches and pains a distant memory. He laughed harshly. “What the fuck? Trust!?” The movement made him dizzy. Revulsion filled him. No, that was nausea.

The pile of sick didn’t add to the ambience in the cell. How he wished for some water or gum to flush the sour taste out of his mouth or something to disguise the smell.

“Scarlett,” Richard started hollowly, clearing his throat to get some of the thick saliva out of it, “granted, doesn’t really know you, really thought there was no way you could be setting a trap.”

Scott didn’t respond. His head was shaking slightly from side to side.

“I wonder what Jamie will think.” When that didn’t cause a response, Richard continued. “When was the last time you saw him, anyway? I suppose the dreamworld, Scarlett mentioned you’d all seen each other. You left Pedro behind in Italy and then hardly spoke to anyone, if I was told correctly. He always had such faith in you. ‘He won’t let you down,’ that’s what he told Matt not long ago.”

_“Shut up,”_ ordered Scott.

Even so, Richard was surprised that he could no longer speak. He wondered if Scott was listening to his thoughts so he allowed himself to think every awful, cruel thought he’d ever thought about anyone and direct it to Scott. As the minutes passed and the order failed to cease, Richard turned around and punched the wall, hard. Scott flinched.

A litany of the foulest swearwords poured through Richard’s mind as his hand burned and started to swell. What a stupid fucking move! Now he was stuck and unable to talk and could now hardly move his right hand.

“Fuck!” He shouted, which made them both flinch. “Fuck,” he repeated, a little quieter. “So I’m allowed to talk now, am I?”

Richard was growing frustrated from the lack of response from Scott. “How did they do it, anyway? Is it about being rich - until they kill you, too?”

“I just wanted them to stop hurting me,” said Scott, more or less tonelessly.

“Hurt Matt instead, then? And the rest of us,” he added.

“Yup,” said Scott curtly. His head raised slightly; they made eye contact for the first time in the cell. His eyes were red. Richard believed him.

“Coward,” spat Richard.

There was silence. Then, “Fuck you,” spat Scott, curling further in on himself.

“Fuck you too,” Richard replied hotly. He clambered up again, slower this time, starting to pace in the cell. He hammered at the door and shouted for guards but he had no response. Some time later, he said to Scott, “You’re their mates, can’t you say something?”

Scott didn’t reply, again. Richard supposed that, for one, his mates were now his captors. For another, the fly soldiers surely Scott couldn’t control should they be the ones who guarded their cell. Finally, the thought snuck in, that perhaps it was another trap. Scott could be in on it again. Or he couldn’t be, and the old ones would succeed in drawing out Matt and Scarlett…

The knife was safely in Richard’s possession still. He considered his options for a long time, sitting back down on the cold rock. He knew his options. They couldn’t be bait if they were dead. It might even be the clever option. If Scott changed his mind, he could use the dreamworld to tell the others to leave Antarctica for his old self would join them soon. And if Scott didn’t… Richard could somehow leave a message.

“You could help us,” said Richard eventually, to the still boy opposite him. “It’s never too late.”

He waited with bated breath. That was a real olive branch Richard put out there. Scott didn’t deserve as much and it caused Richard almost physical pain to say such things and swallow his fury.

It would be so easy to move towards him and raise the knife. Could he go through with it? Perhaps, if Richard were to draw the knife on himself after. Could he draw the blood of a child to help the overwhelming victory against the cruellest of all evil?

Horridly, Richard knew the answer to be yes.


	3. Chapter 3

“So Jamie’s in London, and Pedro’s in Naples.” Scarlett had commandeered a noticeboard and was drawing over it to clear her head.

“Rome,” Matt corrected. “Pedro’s in Rome, near the Vatican City.”

“Right, right.” Scarlett wrote them up in the board with a rough sketch of Europe (which missed a number of countries) and then wrote herself, Matt and Scott at the bottom. “So they should be by the doors.”

“They should be,” Matt agreed. Then he frowned. “Although, we’ve changed our paths…”

Scarlett interrupted him. “I know, but they should be there. So we need to be together. And the doors are locked and we don’t know why.”

“And we need to save Richard.” The thoughts of what Richard might be suffering because of Matt’s choices were running riot through his head, preventing any attempt at a plan.

They were down to the bare bones of the world army. Not enough to cause any sort of threat to the Old Ones should they attempt a coup of the fortress where they believed Scott and Richard to be. In the last battle, Jamie had said, the human forces were enough to rival the Old Ones, or at least significantly hold their own. It sounded nothing like the slaughter that happened the day before. The world army were toyed with and shown aside and Matt couldn’t blame any of them for abandoning the attempt and leaving. Neither of them had left the sanctity of the plane since Lohan had left them, too disheartened to watch all the boats leaving.

“Who do we prioritise? Richard and Scott, or Jamie and Pedro?”

“Richard,” said Matt immediately.

“And that’s what the Old Ones will except,” said Scarlett thoughtfully. “They’ll want us to break in and save Richard, as long as he’s -“ she cut herself off, unable to say it, glancing at Matt for a moment. She continued, her voice wavering only slightly, “But there’s no other way to get Pedro and Jamie without the doors, unless we travel away to meet them. How can they lock the doors? Maybe the guy you met in the library would know?”

Matt had so far acted ignorant of the lock. The knowledge of what Scott was going to do, and should soon want to do, weighed heavily on his mind. And he hadn’t wanted to instil a false sense of trust in Scott, especially now that the narrative had changed. And if they were to open it now, somehow, who would he choose?

He decided to tell Scarlett. “I know how to unlock the door.”

“What? How?” Scarlett perched on the side of a seat, her brow furrowed.

“It requires a sacrifice. Human sacrifice. Someone has to open it and, in doing so, they die.”

“Of course it bloody well does,” she scoffed. “How appalling. How did it open last time? Are we going to have to persuade some loyal warrior to lay down their life for us?” She crossed her arms over her chest. “I don’t think I can do that. I don’t want to do that.”

“Yeah, I know,” said Matt.

“But we must have, last time.” Scarlett thought for a moment. “You said Scott would be pivotal…”

Matt nodded, tired again. “He gave up his life for us to come together again, so he and I were replaced by our past selves.”

“Do you think that’ll happen again?”

“I don’t know.” Matt ran a hand over his face. “I shouldn’t have let this happen. We’ve fucked it all up - this was the only way we could have won and I’ve allowed this to… go to shit.”

“Oh, Matt!” Scarlett reached forward and took his hand. “Richard made his choice. As Scott’s done, as you’ve done. We just have to get on with it now.”

Her hand felt so much warmer than his. She held on and squeezed before retracting her hand and standing up again, pragmatic and firm. “We suss out the door, then. Better being there than stuck in here.”

“They’ll expect that.”

Scarlett smiled grimly. “There’s two of us, and thousands of them. They’re going to expect everything. But we’re here to succeed.”

-

The door to the cell opened. It screeched and clunked like a heavy lock mechanism on the outside. It sounded disappointingly difficult to overcome. A man entered wearing expensive padded clothing, His hair was curly, his teeth abnormally white and he looked to be around Richard’s age. He ignored Richard, refusing to cross the threshold of the cell. Richard wasn’t surprised; it smelt of sick.

Scott had gone very still.

“Hello, Scott,” said the man.

Scott raised his head slightly. “Jonas. Why am I here?”

Jonas smiled thinly. He had the air of a man who thought himself very attractive and very charismatic. And he seemed human, but there was an unnatural air about him. He took a few confident steps forward until he was standing in front of Scott and looking down at him. “You let us down. Where’s Matt Freeman?”

“Didn’t want to come. Hardly my fault.”

Jonas was clearly a friend of Scott’s. In a loose sense, as they talked as if they could barely disguise mutual hatred, which wasn’t far off the way Richard and Scott communicated, come to think of it.

Jonas reached down and took Scott by the jaw, pulling up his head with carefully manicured fingers. He bent down to hiss something in Scott’s ear but Richard didn’t catch it. In actual fact, Richard was realising no attention was on him at present. Out of the cell, the dark corridor had two other men who again looked human, but seemed to lack something. Would he be able to make a break for it?

Scott spat his reply into Jonas’s face. In retaliation, the man backhanded him. He let go of Scott’s jaw and Scott went sprawling on the floor.

Richard was ready to move. He was balanced on his hands and feet, positioned to run as fast as he could, when he heard the sound of running in the corridor. Scott was pulling himself up to standing, bracing against the wall, and Jonas had turned at the noise with Richard.

The corridor which led off to the cell was filled with people. Mostly human looking with gruesome impairments and modifications, others human looking but having that edge. Shapeshifters, Richard assumed. It was busy and the guards were looking around for the commotion.

Scott was pushing himself up slowly, swearing at Jonas in front of him. “Go fuck yourself,” Scott spat, and then smirked.

The smile dropped off Jonas’ face as he brought his hand to his trouser zip.

This must have been what the guards were waiting for. In they rushed; one pushed Scott against the wall, his head cracking loudly and pressed a hand to his throat. The other attempted to impede Jonas’ attempt to embarrass and probably hurt himself.

No one guarded the door.

Richard leapt up. Neither the guards, Jonas, nor Scott noticed him leaving and joining the crowds of soldiers fighting down the corridor.

-

Scarlett and Matt had been busy.

Scarlett led the way to the beach. She was full of determination and power, proud of her choices and feeling certain she was exactly where she had to be. This was her defining moment; this would be the most important thing she’d ever done.

And she was ready.

Matt felt like he had when he’d walked by her side in Hong Kong. Scarlett’s power was overwhelming last time, but even without using it she was an intimidating presence. Scarlett was in charge and knew what she wanted to do. Matt let her lead him.

Sailors and soldiers were talking to them as they crossed the ice but Scarlett brushed aside their concerns and platitudes. She reached the harbour and demanded for a boat for the two of them to cross the ocean.

She was laughed at twice. They were after one of the small, inflatable boats with engines, the Zodiacs, that had taken Richard across the water. And to no such luck.

Scarlett was growing angry. At the third tired, grizzled middle aged man who laughed in her face, she snapped. “How dare you laugh at me! We are giving everything we have to save miserable wankers like you. Help us now or leave this place and face your slow doom knowing you’ve done nothing to prevent it!”

Her cheeks were pink, not just from the cold. The man, American, sneered at her. “I’ve given what I can. I can’t do any more.”

The sky was darkening. Scarlett took a step forward, her eyes wild. “You’re an arsehole, and I do hope you die out there.”

“Yeah?” Said the American, mouth curling in disgust. “And you’re a little bitch.”

“Let’s leave this loser, Scar,” said Matt. He couldn’t see the tone improving and he couldn’t see an argument seeing them man the Zodiac. But then, Matt couldn’t see a way through for them to reach Scott and the others. He did, however, know that Scarlett had found some way. And with her rage and power radiating off her, he knew she would make the right choices.

Matt turned away. He wasn’t expecting Scarlett to follow him but needn’t have worried, for he only took one step and then stopped.

A man approached, chin held high, sharp eyes holding firm. Not on Matt, not on Scarlett, but on the American. ‘Give us the boat,” Lohan ordered.

The American man, in his thick, padded clothes, stood his ground. “No.”

Lohan pulled out a gun and pointed it to the man. A few bystanders turned at this brazen show of crime but seemed to think better of getting involved. “You should leave this place,” advised a woman with blood on her face, looking at the weapon with disgust, but continued to get into the boat that would lead her to temporary safety.

The American eyed the gun. “I don’t-“

Lohan pulled the trigger. The American yelped and grabbed his arm. “You shot me!”

“And I’ll shoot again.”

“Have it,” he garbled, taking a few unsteady steps backwards (Scarlett made a step forward, scared he would fall into the water) but he clambered into his vessel and pulled out the keys from the engine. “Oh God, you shot me.”

“There are worse injured,” Matt said, rolling his eyes.

Lohan climbed into the inflatable first, holding out his hand to help Scarlett into the boat.

He didn’t offer the same assistance to Matt, Matt noticed, as he carefully stepped into the small boat.

“I have shown you cowardice,” said Lohan with little build up. He glanced to Matt but spoke solemnly to Scarlett. “I have behaved dishonourably and for that I must ask for your forgiveness. Here… and in Serra Morte. I should not have tried to leave you, Matt. But I will die fighting or not at all instead of hiding like a coward.”

Lohan started the engine and turned towards Skua Bay. Matt and Scarlett were sitting opposite each other in front of Lohan. Matt was looking ahead, to where they were going, planning. Considering, although the bay was growing bigger by the second.

Scarlett kept turning back to look at Lohan.

“Thank you, Lohan,” Scarlett said after a couple of minutes as they got close, having to raise her voice into the freezing wind. “For this and for Hong Kong.” She kicked Matt in the shin.

Matt glanced back at their companion too. He couldn’t imagine that Lohan really needed to hear anything from him. Matt had marvelled at how unaffected Lohan seemed to be and couldn’t read anything into his expression. Perhaps he would be easier to read if unscarred.

“You came back to help us,” said Matt, careful to turn his head so Lohan could hear in the wind. “That’s the important thing.”

Lohan nodded. Still, Matt could see no change in his demeanour but Scarlett nodded at Matt like he’d done something right.

“What do you think we should do?” Matt asked Scarlett as they stood on Skua bay. The atmosphere was stark and cold. The pebbles were a shade of grey like all colour had been sucked out of them. In fact, Matt thought, as he looked about himself, the place was as soulless and unwelcoming as the dreamworld.

She was still angry. Matt hoped she held onto the anger. It gave them all strength.

“Well, there must be a way through. I guess we just… walk up to them.” She sounded like Matt sounded when he was picked on to answer a question in school.

“You worked it out last time,” said Matt. “Trust your instincts.”

Lohan looked at Matt oddly. “We can’t just go blindly inside,” Lohan said with some impatience. “We’ll be killed straight away.”

“I can cover us,” said Scarlett.

And that was how they wandered into the lions’ den. With a cover of a cloud, they slipped past the defences of the enemy down the narrow tunnel. Matt and Lohan kept close to Scarlett, careful to even breathe quietly.

They reached a quiet courtyard where the snow fell heavily. In front of them a giant set of doors that led to the fortress. To the side was a cave set into the mountain just like the tunnel they had walked through. A shining chain was in front of the entrance with a white pair of hands interlaced at the centre. At the top of the fissure was a small, five pointed star.

The cover of fog had led them safely to the door. The snow was close to a blizzard and hid them successfully but Matt, distracted by the door - should it be him to open it? If not, then who? - tripped on a rock hidden by the snow. He stumbled a metre from Scarlett, scarcely anything but he was seen.

The shapeshifters guarding the courtyard descended, and with them, the clanging of a bell. A warning.

-

The bell sounded distantly through the corridor. Richard ran with the army, conscious that, in his padded clothing, he stuck out as different to them. He was weaponless and fully human and concussed still, if the way he kept crashing into beings in front and beside him meant anything.

The bell couldn’t mean anything good but Richard wasn’t going to be much helped cooped up in a cell. The corridors were dark and dank, winding through the mountain, so far underground they might as well be buried.

The corridor took a sharp turn and Richard slid. He held himself up against the wall, scared if he fell he’d never get up again. The floor was lined with blood. No question where it had come from - he was surprised more of the badly mutilated people hadn’t collapsed in the process. He allowed himself to be taken with the crowd again to join some unseen battle up ahead.

The corridor joined a hall. As part of a hundred strong army, Richard ascended the stairs and they spilled out through massive doors into a courtyard where the snow fell heavily and the wind was rising.


End file.
